The Gods must be Crazy: Remembering the life and times of Nǃxau ǂToma.
If you have watched the movie series, The Gods must be Crazy, you will remember the guy who got into all sorts of trouble all because of a bottle that fell from the sky.
Well, today, Unkleaboki will do a little research into the life and career of this late legendary Namibian actor. His name? Nǃxau ǂToma. Remember to add the click to his name too.
Bio:
Nǃxau ǂToma
Born 6 December 1944
Tsumkwe, South West Africa, South Africa (now Namibia)
Died 5 July 2003
Tsumkwe, Namibia
Other names: Nǃxau Gǃkau Gcao Tekene Coma, the gods must be Crazy hero
Occupation: Bush farmer, actor
Years active 1980–1994
.Nǃxau ǂToma[a] (short: Nǃxau, alternative spelling Gcao Tekene Çoma; c. 1944 – 5 July 2003) was a Namibian bush farmer and actor who starred in the 1980 movie The Gods Must Be Crazy and its sequels, in which he played the Kalahari Bushman Xixo. The Namibian called him “Namibia’s most famous actor”.
Biography
Nǃxau was a member of the San, also known as Bushmen. He spoke Juǀʼhoan, Otjiherero and Tswana fluently, as well as some Afrikaans.
He did not know his own exact age, and before his appearance in the films he had little experience of typical “modern” living: he had only ever seen three white people before being cast and was unaware of the value of paper money.
His first earnings for The Gods Must Be Crazy ($300), a pinch of salt for a movie which has grossed over a billion dollars in revenue till date.
Nǃxau ǂToma, the Lead Actor of the movies, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" 1 & 2 based on the lives of the San people of Southern Africa was paid only $300 even though the movies grossed $60 million.
He died at the age of 58 in 2003. He is Namibia's most famous Actor. pic.twitter.com/AoLAVqWRhM
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) August 20, 2019
He was however able to negotiate for near $500,000 for his appearance in the sequel.
Seems Nǃxau ǂToma (1944-2003) of the “The Gods Must Be Crazy” film fame was the most beloved African actor –everhttps://t.co/tko3oWRftm pic.twitter.com/F2Md2u45KS
— Charles Onyango-Obbo (@cobbo3) December 23, 2016
He came from a culture that did not value the material things that money could buy and consequently had never before learned money management skills, although he used some of his income to build a brick house with running water and electricity for his family.
In addition to The Gods Must Be Crazy, Nǃxau starred in a series of sequels: The Gods Must Be Crazy II, Crazy Safari, Crazy Hong Kong and The Gods Must Be Funny in China.
The San People are indigenous hunter-gatherer groups across Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa.
Namibian, Nǃxau ǂToma who starred in the movie, Gods Must Be Crazy was a member of the San. pic.twitter.com/R13kpJtKAv
— This Is My Africa (@thisismyafrika) July 3, 2020
After his film career ended, he returned to Namibia, where he farmed maize, pumpkins and beans and kept several head of cattle (but no more than 20 at a time because, according to The Independent, without the complex farming systems of the “modern world”, he had trouble keeping track of more).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex5JpwlrduQ
The Namibian local daily New Era stated that he simply could not count further than 20.
https://twitter.com/thePearlicious/status/1278972368799531008?s=20
Nǃxau converted to Christianity. In July 2000, he was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist.
On 5 July 2003, he died from multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis while he was out on an excursion for hunting guinea fowl. According to official estimates he was about 58 or 59 years old at the time.
When James Brown called Prince and Michael Jackson on stage!!!
He was buried on 12 July in a semi-traditional ceremony at Tsumkwe, next to the grave of his second wife. He had six surviving children.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Gods Must Be Crazy Xi [7]
1989 The Gods Must Be Crazy II Xixo
1991 Crazy Safari Nǃxau The Bushman
1993 Crazy Hong Kong Xi
1994 The Gods Must be Funny in China Nixau – Bushman (final film role)
1996 Sekai Ururun Taizaiki Himself Episode: “Afurika no busshuman ni Katou Haruhiko ga deatta”
References: